Happy New Year

New Zealand greets 2009 before most of the rest of the world.

To all my ESOL students where ever they are at this time:

Hello, Kia Ora, Ni How, Nasmate, Bonjour, Melo ele lei, talofa , Asamalakum, ohayou ,ahn nyeong ha se yo,selamat pagi , góðan dag ,ia orana,sawa dee-ka ,xin chào and hola

Westgate shopping mall.

I was interested to see this sign at a shopping mall at Massey.

Once I was with my uncle D. and Gab and we had just entered a shopping mall when loud alarm bells sounded. There were no security guards or fire marshalls to tell the shoppers what to do. Some left, and some just stayed. After a while, we heard fire appliances. Uncle D said, it was time to go. By then, the car park was full of cars causing quite a jam. I don't remember seeing this shopping mall with a evacuation sign.

generation gap

Sam wants to wear his jeans this way. his dad is not happy. I told him, you should see the kids in my school.

Kiwi kids like to run around with no shoes, not even jandals. In winter, some of them don't feel cold, and wear just a T-shirt. They are not allowed to wear hoodies with their hoods up.

Some of them are forever having a runny nose. The thick mucous make me want to puke. I tell them to blow their nose. The little ones don't know how to do it. I have to tell them, press one nostil, blow the other side.

Dandelion Flower

This flower is a perfect time to play," He loves me, he loves me not."

The idea is similar to plucking a petal of a daisy flower.

With the dandelion flower, you blow with one breathe. If the seeds get blown away a lot, you know he loves you a lot. But if a lot of the seeds remain, you know he couldn't care the stuff about you.

Of course, the seeds will naturely blow away as long as you choose a mature flower and you blow with a lung full of air.

Another folklore of the dandelion:
Dandelion Thoughts

Folklore says that blowing the seeds off a dandelion is said to carry your thoughts and dreams to your loved one. At least, so they say... Source: "Unusual Vegetables, Something New for this Year's Garden," Rodale Press Emmaus, PA.

"Are you separated from the object of your love? Carefully pluck one of the feathery heads; charge each of the little feathers composing it with a tender thought; turn towards the spot where the loved one dwells; blow, and the seed-ball will convey your message faithfully. Do you wish to know if that dear one is thinking of you? blow again; and if there be left upon the stalk a single aigrette, it is a proof you are not forgotten. Similarly, the dandelion is consulted as to whether the lover lives east, west, north, or south, and whether he is coming or not." Source: "The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought," by Alexander F. Chamberlain

I should go to the garden and blow a lot of dandelion and think of my poor D alone in Singapore at this festive season.

New Zealand plants

These are called Toi Toi or toetoe, they are Maori words.

The plumes form in late spring through summer. It is an iconic plant you can see along the road sides and the beach. They are proud plants withstanding the wind.

In Singapore, florists sell them as dry flowers. Many tour drivers complain that Singaporean tourists request they stop their coach so they can go and pick the long plumes.

When I first arrived in my flat, my girl friends had a big vase of ToeToes and the male flat mates used to admonish them about the danger of stopping the car just to get them.

Alas for my house, the water engineer is allergic to pollens, so I don't get any.

It does remind me of the airport trolleys with their little flags.

New Zealand plants

These look like little rabbit tails. Florists use them s dried flowers.

In 2000, the water engineer was angry that I picked them at the beach at Greymouth. He was complaining that they affected his allergy and sinus. I was stubborn and determined to take them back to Singapore for a souvenir of our trip and to remember how I used to pick them with my girl friends before I was married and had to worry about pollen grains.

New Zealand Beach Plants

We went to Bethals Sand dunes after Christmas, (Summer in NZ), and I found these plants. They reminded me of Stars on the Christmas tree.